Miami gets its own Internet domain name

City becomes third in U.S. to have dedicated domain name

MIAMI - Miami will become the third U.S. city to have a dedicated Internet domain name.

Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commissioner Francis Suarez announced the .miami domain during a news conference Thursday.

Starting Oct. 2, Miami will join New York (.nyc) and Las Vegas (.vegas) in offering its own domain name.

A news release said the .miami domain is operated by Minds + Machines, a leading domain name registry. A significant portion of the revenue generated will go to the city.

"It was a win-win for the city of Miami," Suarez said. "This is about Miami's brand -- a brand that is global in nature -- and I think as a commissioner it is our duty to build on our brand."

The new .miami top-level domain was established as a part of the historic expansion of the Internet naming system administered by the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers. More than 7 million domain names have now been registered across several hundred new top-level domains.

"Everyone wants to be a part of Miami, and the launch of the .miami domain establishes a unique Internet presence for us," Regalado said. "Public departments, local businesses and residents can now demonstrate their passion for Miami with a .miami domain and, in doing so, elevate our visibility and reputation on the Internet stage."

Standard domain names will typically cost about $20 a year, with premium names priced higher. GoDaddy is taking advance orders for domain names ahead of the Oct. 2 opening. Through GoDaddy.miami, interested users can apply for a .miami domain name at a significant discount.

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